CEA-Leti's Startup Avalun released its Covid-19 antigen test a few days ago. This powerful growth driver will also help speed up the rollout of Avalun's portable lab, LabPad® Evolution.
- At the start of 2020, Avalun had plans to roll out its LabPad® INR in six
regions across France to monitor 10,000 patients on blood thinners. But that
was before Covid. The test rollout (a project called Di@pason) was postponed
when participating medical biology labs were overwhelmed by the testing demands
of the pandemic. Avalun rapidly switched gears, focusing its R&D on a
Covid-19 antigen test and on the release of its new portable lab, the LabPad®
Evolution. The company started working on the antigen test in August, and
obtained CE marking in late November
Results in 20 minutes or less
- "Positive" patients with a high viral load can expect a result in just a few minutes, while a negative result can take up to 20 minutes. Compared to the conventional in-lab PCR test, Avalun's antigen test is 92.5% effective. A nasal swab is required for the new test. Avalun's LabPad® Evolution automatically reads the results and sends the information to secure public health data monitoring platforms.
- Orders are flowing in and demand on this global market far surpasses what the company can manufacture. The LabPad® Evolution will make inroads into markets around the world—and not just in France—much faster than anticipated. Once the pandemic is behind us, Avalun will have a substantial installed base of products and will then be able to offer other kinds of tests. The company's R&D department is already working on them!
Avalun is currently located within MINATEC High-Tech Building.